Electric permutation lock



July 29, 1924.

H. D. WETHLING smc'raxc BERMUTATION LOCK Filed Aug. 11, 1922 2 Sheets-Sheet l July 29, 11924.. Y 1,503,403

H. D. WETHLING I ELECTRIC PERMUTATION LOCK Filed Aug. 11, 1922 2 Sheats-$heet 2 ,4 TTOR/VEVS Patented July 29, 1924 TIE/LS HARRY nonmn vvvnrrn iv v or enema newmnsn ELECTRIC P RM IWIQ 99??- it may 0m it lcnow'n that I, HARRY DLWETBILING, a 'citin'enofthe United States, and 2t resident Q essee, i the c n y fE X an se ofNeW Jersey, have invented a new fend ImpioVed Ele tric Permutation "Look; of

- em sn fewe @1 5 ee efldes r p ion' Thi v onrelat s to l c r o k fen has p rt l r efrenee la en. ele t ip' mu at n l ck; th m 'b' lie in" he" ur of an improvement upon a prior patent nee I granted'to me August 8, 1922, and bearing United States Patent No. giesg es.

jlhe present invention contemplates an electric permutation lock vvhich' is particularly designed for use'in connection Withthe i it syste b m to vehic e a thqu h th S e may be mp oye n nnec on h a y desire ele tr circ fionltre g thesamef' e I e of the outstanding objects of the present invention residesfin the provision of e a means for effectively locking an electric circuit in opened conditionwithout the. necessity n ef la in k y o o e sim de a heb tm n p le el men I I A s' aiurthrobje'ct the invention contemplates in" an electric permutation lock, niezins for facilitating the changing of the combination vvithout removing the interior elements or opening up the lock hons'in'g'.

More specifically Where the lock is employed in connection with ignition systems the invention contemplates means for mountingand closingthe lock housing to preclude the possibility of en unauthorized person" opening the same in a limitedspace oftime. v'

- e still further object the invention aims to provide an electric permutation lock whichfis extremely simple in its construction, inexpensive to manufacture and install, and Which is thoroughly reliable and highly'efficient in its purpose.

With the above recited and other objects in viewfthe invention resides in ,thenovel construction set forth in the following speciufication,"particularlypointed out in the 'appended claimsand illustrated in the accompanying drawings, ,it being; understood that the right isrese'rved to embodiments other than those actually illustrated herein to the fl ll'l extent indicated by the general meaning of "the terms in 'which'fth'e claims are ex- I ih d i g m' ii n p f i d w hefnf' h oftent mes? ve n o mq b j e el Fig. 21s a sidevievv thereof with the dash of instrumentfboer d ss sctibh f Fig? Sis reairvievv; 4 a tartan longitudinal sectional view tl iroughthe'.lock*teken eppronirneltly Q h il f lFie- 5- Fig. 5 is'a transverse sectional view taken of reference, A designates the dash or instrument'ib'odrdo f a motor vehiclegB the coil box ivhich disposed in rearthereof, tnde the circuit 'vvi'res vvh'ich extendfrom thelCO'il box to the spark plugs or other instrumentalities operated by'thecircuitf 3 The lock which c nstitutesthe invention comprises a cupfshaped 'housing' 1O, the open front end of vvhicht'is inserted through-find snugly Tits within zin opening 11 in'the dash larger diemetenthan' the housing 10') is fitted "or instrument board A. A cover plate "12of over the open fie-teem efndsaid fcover plate fannultii'" inwzirdly projectin'g flnnge I3 whicli snugl'y fits within the open end of the housing 10. Locking screws is: provided with" an 14 eiitend radially through the'housl ngand' aren nchored inth'e' flange '13 to retainthe afiront elevationof the lock PPi'QXimzitelyon the'line'j5 5 of 2 in m i s by "chiiracters cover plate in "place. The outer peripheral "portion 15 which extends beyondthouter periphery 6f the housing 'IObOnStitut-es' an "tibutmentfienge Whichliesegainst the front thee of thedash' oxfiristriim'ent-berd The coil box i B which is provided with fen oiitturnedfia-ngeD at its open end against which n coil box cover pl'ateE i s 'erratnged,

is brought into flait contactwith therear all"16"of the housing 10 and screws l7are passed through the Walls 16*a'nd anchored in the bosses F oi the coi'l'boXcove1'plate to attach the icoilibox and housing together. Stud boltsG are passed through openings in the-flztnges D'of tl1e c'oil box and lock nuts H are'threaded onflthe stud boltsand'beer against the coil] box cover 1 plate .E "to clamp the'same against theflaIige'D." The inner end 'ofithel'stud 'boltsfGr are impinged "against the inneriface of the dash or instrument board A for the purpose of efie'cting the drawing of the" peripheral portion '15 into'fiet engagement with the front surface of the dash or'instrument board A; A'large number of stud 1 bolts" ere emploved tor the coil box to prevent tampering with the lock or circuit wires byan unauthorized person. Under this arrangement the locking screws 14 are disposed within the opening 11 in the dash or instrument board to render their removal impossible until the stud bolts have been withdrawn. A bed plate 18 of insulating material is arranged within the space defined bythe annular flange 13 and said bed plate is provided with an annular series of bearing openings 19 which align with similar bearing openings 20 in the housing cover plate 12. A shaft'21 is mounted in each aligned bearing opening 19 and 20 and said shaft is provided with a re duced extension 22 which protrudes inwardlybeyondthe inner faceof the bed plate 18. A substantially circular head 23 of a non-conducting material is attached to the inner end of reach extension 22 for turning movement therewith in one direction by means of a ratchet 22 and each of said heads is provided with a peripheral bridge plate 24 of a material which is a conductor of electricity. A coiled spring 25 is interposed between a washer 26 bearing against the inner face of the bed plate and an abutment 27 on the extension 22 for the purpose of impinging andfrictionally engaging the annular'bead on the shaft 21 against'the outer'face of the housing cover plate 12. A plurality of supporting posts 29 are anchored in thejbed plate 18 and project outwardly therefrom, said posts being interposed between-the adjacent heads 23. A bowed resilient contact element 30 is secured to the outer end of each post with the opposite extremitiesin frictional engagement with the periphery of the heads. One of the posts andcontact elements 29 is omitted from between two of the adjacent heads and at this point a pair of resilient contact arms 31 respectively engage the peripheries of the adjacent heads 23. The contact arms 31 are connected to and mounted on posts 32 which project inwardly from the bed plate and are anchored thereto. A conduit or circuit wire J is led into thehousing 10 through the aligned apertures 33 and 345 in thewalls 16 and coil box cover E. The circuit or con- I .duit wire J is broken and the opposite terperipheral bridge plates 24 are bridging the contact elements 30 and the arms 31 at the minals thereof extend through the posts 32 to electrically connect the same to the contact arms 31. Under thisarrangement the circuitwill be closed only when all of the terminals of the circuit wire or conductor J. If one or more of the heads 23 is turned to dispose the peripheral bridge plate 2 1' out of bridging relation to the contacts, it is obvious that the circuit will vbe broken or opened. In order to provide means for guiding the operator in the manipulation of the switch heads 23, pointer arms 35 are attached to the outer projecting ends of the shafts 21 which pointer arms cooperate with the indicating indicia 36 inscribed on the outer face of the housing cover plate 12. The pointer arms '35 are rendered adjustable for the purpose of changing the combination by detachably associating the same with the outwardly projecting portions of the shafts 21. As illustrated the outwardly projecting portions 37 of the shafts are of multi-faced formation while the pointer arms are provided with multifaced openings 37. Retaining screws 39 serve to normally hold the pointer arms over the portions 37 When itis desired to lock'the circuit in opened condition, one or more of the pointer arms are manipulated to rotate the shafts 21 and switch heads 23 whereby to dispose the peripheral bridge plates 24 out of bridging relation to the contact elements 30 or contact arms 31. To close the circuit the operator having knowledge ofthe particular combination manipulates the'pointer arms to the proper indicating character 36. A change in the combination may be readily effected without opening the housing by simply removing the retaining screws 39, withdrawing the pointer arms 35 from the portions 37 of the shaft and replacing the same thereover in a difierent position.

It will thus be seenthat an electric permutation lock has been provided which is extremely simple in its construction and which is especially applicable for use in connection with the ignition system of motor vehicles whereby to preclude the possibility of operation of the motor byan unauthorized person.

I claim: .v

1. A permutationignition lock including a housing into which one of the conductors of the ignition systemextends, a plurality of,sw1tches arranged in series insaid conductor and located in the housing, each of said switches comprising a rotary switch 3 head having a peripheral bridge piece and of switches arranged in series insaid" conductor and located in the housing, each of said switches comprising a rotary switch head having a peripheral bridge piece and a resilient contact interposed between the adjacent switch heads and respectively engaging the peripheries thereof, shafts extending through one of the walls ofthe housing having the switch heads connected therewith for turning movement in one direction, and complementary means at the outer end of each shaft and on the outer surface of the housing for indicating to the operator the closed and open condition of the switches, said complementary indicating means for each switch being relatively adjustable with respect to each other tovary the combination.

HARRY DORNIN WETHLING 

